Plan to give Europe power over City moves closer

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The City fears too much power could be given to the "super regulator" as the EU looks to clamp down on speculatorsStefan Rousseau/PA

Miles Costello

Last updated at 12:01AM, November 11 2011

Britain and Brussels are heading for a legal clash over the right of European regulators to dictate to the London market what action to take during a financial crisis.

EU ambassadors gave their approval yesterday to a series of controversial measures designed to clamp down on speculators, particulary those betting against governments and financial institutions. As well as an EU ban on speculative bets against eurozone sovereign debts, rulemakers approved curbs on the short-selling of financial shares and far greater dislosure by investors of their positions.

Britain remains concerned that the proposals, which were backed last month by the European